Hataway speaks to Lions about Borger Community Initiative

March 22, 2011

A local citizen is doing her part to see that children who need a meal during the summer months will have that opportunity.
Last Wednesday Jennifer Hataway spoke before the Borger Noon Lions Club about a potential summer feeding program.
She has been a part of the Borger community for six years and is a pediatric physical therapist. Her husband Jayson was the vice principal for Borger Middle School for two years and is now the principal at Crockett Elementary.
Seeing both sides of physical and emotional issues with local children, she spoke at the Lions lunch meeting announcing her Borger Community Initiative proposal. This program will offer a prepared meals to the economically disadvantaged children of the community on each Saturday of the summer weekends along with fun activities to help build relationships.
Hataway said that 45 percent of Borger ISD students from preschool through 8th grade qualify for a program that will provide free or reduced lunches depending on their financial qualifications.
â€śWe might conclude that when they are not in school during the summer months or during the weekends, a large number of Borger kids are going without food,â€ť she said. â€śWe might also conclude that in many cases if a parent is not able to provide his or her child with food, the child may also be deficient in healthy, and positive social and emotional interactions.â€ť
Being hungry can cause a child to act out in bad behavior at school or any thing harmful out side of the school that requires law enforcement.
Hataway found out that Amarillo had such a program and decided that with the right resources that the City of Borger could do just that to help community kids feel full and involved.
Leigh Fuller of the High Plains Food Bank is interested in assisting people in Borger in developing a pilot program that would run on Saturdays during the summer months and are qualified for full coverage for the prepackaged meals that would be cooked at the food bank and then sealed and delivered to Borger where they would be reheated and served at the park.
The only thing they lack to get this program up and running is a 501c3 non profit facility to store the food and an oven to heat up the food. Hataway stated that they are looking at having the Borger Community Initiative at the park out by the airport that has just the right amount of space.